The field of the disclosure relates generally to circuit breakers and, more particularly, to circuit breakers including rotary handles.
Circuit breakers are often used to protect, in a residential, industrial, utility, or commercial environment, against overcurrent conditions, ground fault conditions, or other system anomalies that are undesirable and require the circuit breaker to interrupt the flow of current through the circuit breaker.
At least some known circuit breakers include an electrically insulative case that encloses at least a portion of the circuit breaker and inhibits current flowing to the exterior of the case. Typically, the case includes a door that allows access to the interior of the case. The door includes a handle that is used to open and close the door. However, access to the interior of the case during operation of the circuit breaker is a safety risk due to the electric current flowing through the circuit breaker. Accordingly, at least some circuit breakers include a handle that is linked to conductive components which interrupt the flow of current through the circuit breaker when the door is opened. In addition, some circuit breakers include interlock mechanisms that inhibit the door opening when the circuit breaker is on. However, some handles and interlock mechanisms operate inconsistently and/or fail. Moreover, the handles and interlock mechanisms increase the cost and time required to assemble the circuit breakers.